"Unfortunately, we are not responsible for you". T. regularly received this answer when he went to his contact points in Berlin. T., formerly homeless and living on the streets, now living in Berlin-Charlottenburg, led our group of 18 students through his neighborhood on the first evening of our study trip to Berlin last March.
He is now a guide with the "Querstadtein" association and takes us to the places that are important and often helpful to him, such as certain stores, petrol stations, places in public spaces, sleeping places, during his time on the street.
A., who also works for "Querstadtein" in the program as a guide with refugee experience, has fled to Berlin with her children since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. She also shows the places that have been important to her since her arrival in Germany and Berlin, places that have been formative experiences for her and her family.
The study trip to Berlin includes an examination of poverty, precarity, housing and life in the city, changes that affect people, the urban living space and its various population groups.
The two social workers from the "Gangway" association, which has been doing outreach youth social work in Berlin for over 40 years, report from their perspective on what has changed for young people, what challenges and issues shape their everyday lives, how young people behave on the street and what youth cultures can be found at Berlin meeting places. The low-threshold relationship offers repeatedly present social workers with challenges and at the same time allow for many wonderful encounters.
The main topics and the practical organizations visited are developed and determined each year during the preparation period before the study trip. Current topics, trends and also the interests of the students taking part in the study trip often play a role.
For some years now, our visit to Berlin has also included a visit to our partner universities. This year, for example, we were guests at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences in the workshop "Help for Education" and were able to exchange ideas with the students from Potsdam on the topic of "Children’s Rights" and their implementation in the field of child and youth welfare, as well as the reappraisal of experiences in residential education in Germany (GDR and FRG).
In return, the students from Potsdam visited us in Lucerne in April and were able to take a look at the final presentations from our study trip to Berlin.
The study trip to Berlin takes place every year in the spring semester.
